Sustainability

This class prepares students for active membership in a community that is working to reduce its carbon footprint and become more sustainable. The class explores the grounds, buildings and practices of Durham Academy as an institution and leads the Upper School’s Earth Day observance. Individually, students learn to recognize the choices that contribute to their own carbon footprint and expand their repertoire of ways to reduce it.

We can’t predict the future, but we can explore what’s possible. How can a healthy and sustainable future be achieved? How might we contribute to a cooler Earth, more robust ecosystems and a more just and equitable environment? We pursue answers to such questions by studying recent, positive examples and using methods and tools from the field of futures thinking. For example, the world has already reduced probable warming from 7°C to 3°C. How did this happen? What has led to successful efforts to reduce air pollution, restore biodiversity on public lands and reconnect communities cut by freeways? These case studies generate inspiration grounded in reality. Turning to the future, we cultivate critical thinking and expand our imaginations through improv games, a data-based simulation and a work of speculative fiction: Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel The Ministry for the Future. We then turn to the real world to seek signs of positive changes that contribute to environmental sustainability. Incorporating library research, field trips and interviews with experts, students gather data and inspiration. They imaginatively weave these and other potential changes into varied scenarios of possible futures. Their best-case scenario becomes the basis for the culminating project in the course: designing a plan that could lead to their chosen scenario. This plan is then shared with audiences within and beyond the school community to inspire hope and action.

How can we identify actions that will truly improve sustainability? Why are communities of color disproportionately affected by climate change? Can student research propel institutional change? In this inquiry-based course, students expand their foundational knowledge of key aspects of climate change, environmental justice and biodiversity loss. They research and write a scholarly report on a topic of their choice. Each student then leads a class seminar on their topic. Students build a toolkit of positive actions by analyzing cases of academic institutions that have improved on key metrics such as emissions reduction and improved wildlife habitat. Ways to document and measure success are examined, as are drivers such as activism, leadership, communication, education and investment. Each student writes a short, documented description of at least five tools that have been successfully employed in academic settings. All these descriptions are combined and organized into a resource for the whole class to use in developing final projects that help Durham Academy advance toward its sustainability goals. Working in small groups, students follow the Design Thinking protocol and begin to function as practitioners in this emerging field. They learn about interview techniques and use them to seek a range of perspectives. They then design a prototype, seek feedback, refine their product and implement it to the extent possible within the semester.

Did you know that lawns are the most extensively cultivated crop in the United States? They are ecological dead zones, producing no food for human consumption and very little for other organisms. But students can be part of efforts to shift our landscapes toward a more sustainable model for humans and wildlife! In this course, students learn about landscapes that Europeans first encountered in North America. Students explore how domesticated animals, introduced plant species, and the loss of indigenous knowledge caused the degradation of natural ecosystems in the United States and around the globe. On field trips, around our campus, and in the classroom, students learn from experts about creative restoration and conservation efforts, and the importance of intact ecosystems for human health and climate change mitigation. Via research and observation, students identify native plants and the diversity of organisms they support. Throughout the course, students will engage with outside organizations’ efforts to restore ecosystems and educate the public about biodiversity. One of the most pivotal projects involves the class developing and implementing a plan to convert a parcel of the Upper School property into a habitat for native plants and wildlife. These actions will support wider sustainability initiatives to foster ecosystem renewal across our campus and the wider Durham community.

Upper Schoolers with an interest in a particular element of sustainability may choose to delve into that topic through the Pathway Scholars program, an Independent Study or an internship. 

The Pathway Scholars program is a structure for students who with to pursue a community-based research project. There are three predefined Pathway focus areas, one of which is the Sustainability Pathway. Students who choose this Pathway will imagine, design and implement projects that address the climate crisis locally or globally. All Pathway Scholars must enroll in two semester-long courses: ADV Community-Based Research and ADV Pathway Scholars. Participants may apply for funding to support their projects through the DA microgrant fund. Pathway Scholars' culminating event is a symposium at which students will present their project.

Through Durham Academy's Independent Learning program, sophomores, juniors and seniors have the opportunity to design a course for themselves. Though they work independently, students in this program are supported by teachers and peers. The student-designed course culminates in a project or performance that is shared with the community in a form appropriate to the topic. 

Students may also explore such interests via an internship. The Upper School's student development & career exploration counselor is happy to help students explore options for internships related to sustainability and a variety of other interests.